Ruger New Model Blackhawk Single Action Revolver

Michael_Aos

Michael_Aos

Joined
Jan 25, 2001
Messages
1,639
I keep eyeing this one. $399.95 in 357 Mag & 9mm (two cylinders) and 6 1/2" barrel.

Any comments? Pointers to more info?

I've already got a couple .22's, a 9MM semi-auto pistol & a couple of 1911 .45's.

This just looks like "fun" -- especially for plinking when we go camping. Just not sure it's worth $400 to shoot it maybe 6 times a year...

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Mike
 
What price do you put on having a good time? If you're going to keep that shooter and use it for a long time it might amortize out to $40/yr if you keep it 10 years. Is that worth it? I have a Vaquero in .45 Colt that I can't use for anything but range work (not much SASS out here as far as I know and I can't afford to get a shotgun and rifle to match anyway) but I love to shoot that gun. Worth it for me. You decide for you.

Rob
 
My vote goes for you getting it. Ruger makes great SA revolvers. Loads of fun to shoot. It's worth the $400 :D
 
My GF e-mailed me "NO", but I haven't talked to her yet to hear what she's thinking.

What do you think about the choice of 357 / 9mm convertible?

I'm thinking it gives TON of choices in ammo selection, and is cheap to shoot.

Plus it doesn't have the BLAM and recoil of a .44 Mag or even .45ACP / .45 Colt.

Just fun.

Mike
 
I think this would be a great revolver for plinking. 9mm wouldn't have much recoil in a Blackhawk and it's also cheaper to shoot than 357mag. I would like one with a 4 5/8" barrel for easy packability. Sounds like a lot of fun, you should go for it!
 
I had a Super Blackhawk in .45 Colt, fine gun. That 357/9mm combo will be extremely versatile; you can shoot all manner of .38s through the .357 cylinder, and if you get into reloading, it can be dead cheap to shoot.
There's plenty of cheap military 9mm stuff as well, but watch out for corrosive priming; there's still some out there.
 
I have a new model Blackhawk in .41 Mag that I have had since the early '80s and would not trade it for anything in the price range.
IMHO .357 mag is unpleasant to shoot due to the pitch of the report and 9mm is OK for beer cans. Ruger makes this pistol in .30 carbine also, which is a serious round and fairly cheap to shoot. I believe it is also available in a convertible with the old .38-40 cal.
I had a trigger and action job done on mine and put on a set of large Hogue grips. These combined made it into a tack driver that will shoot with a S&W. The blackhawk is the strongest stock revolver action made and will handle very hot loads in the Mags-You can use the larger caliber forbig game hunting.
 
Ruger GP100 4" in Stainless steel. You would sacrafice the ability to shoot 9mm, but gain double action which would make it a much more usefull gun for self defence (should the liberals finally ban all semi-autos) The stainless is much easier to take care of, especially if it is ever carried for defence and is close to the skin.

One of the gun mags did a comparison with a Colt Python several years ago and the GP100 was actually more accurate. They can certainly be had in your price range as well. It's not the looker the Blackhawk is, but it's a darn versatile gun with the wide range of .357 and .38 special that you can put through it.

I've had mine about a dozen years and if I ever get to where I have to sell my guns (heaven forbid) my GP100 will be the last one to go. I swapped the stock grips for an all rubber Hogue Monogrip and it's very comfortable to shoot. With .38 special wadcutter target loads it hardly recoils any harder than my .22 Browning Buckmark. It certainly jumps a lot more with a 1450 fps hot load in it, but is still very managable and awful fun if you like loud bangs but don't want to get beat up by a .44 mag. The Blackhawk will probably take slightly hotter loads, but the GP100 will handle any of the factory hot loads like Cor-Bon and the like. Some day I'll get around to getting it a nice trigger job, but so far so good for me.

Whatever you do, don't let your girlfriend tell you that you can't have a gun. When my wife and I were first dating I attempted to break it off because she had told me that she would never again live in a house with a gun as she'd previously had a bad experience with an ex and a gun. I told her we might as well stop seeing each other, before it gets serious because my owning firearms was not up for negotiating. She finally realized that I was not the same person as her ex and that it was the person, not the tool which had misbehaved. She came around and here 12 years later she loves my little Buckmark and my Ruger 10/22.

All this is just my humble (smelly) opinion.

jmx
 
Well, I'm certainly not going to tell your girlfriend you already have guns that are perfectly good for plinking when you go camping. No, Michael's girlfriend, Michael needs a Blackhawk! None of the guns he has already are even remotely suitable for the purpose, and besides it'll save money because the ammo is so cheap -- much cheaper than .22 ammo. So you should do your best to convince him to buy it. It's not just because it's a cool gun; it's because it's a practical investment for the future. But don't let him waste money on little boxes of ammo because that adds up fast. Make him buy a large quantity of ammunition for it -- the bigger the box of cartridges the cheaper it is. The best deals have to be delivered by truck -- make him get a whole truckload; you'll save a lot of money that way. :cool:
 
Well her thinking is we already have ENOUGH guns (S&W 317 "kit gun" .22, Browning Buck Mark .22, CZ75B 9mm, Springfield Micro-compact 3" 1911 .45, Colt Government 1911 .45").

I just bought the S&W 317 two weeks ago for her to shoot, and she really likes it. She likes the Buck Mark too -- even less recoil and less noise, even though she calls it kind of "heavy".

We went and looked at the 6.5" barrel version. I'm thinking I want the extra barrel length for "plinking" and accuracy -- but it sure seems barrel heavy! The 4 5/8" barrel just looks better to my eye as well. Thoughts?

Oh -- she was also thinking I was buying this for HER to shoot, so she really wasn't interested in it. And she thinks I should get something REALLY cool like an iPod or a 12" Powerbook with the money and not "waste" it on a gun.

So I might head over and pick it up tomorrow....

:D

Mike
 
Ever heard of these? I found one in .357 for $299.

Honestly, I think I prefer the "modern" Blackhawk to this authentic 1873 replica. But this does seems like a really good deal....

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Mike
 
Glad to hear she's not gun unfriendly. Them little Buckmarks are a blast aren't they?

You didn't say which barrel length you've decided on.

FYI: here's a pic of the GP100

jmx
 

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I have a 6" GP100 and it's a great gun too. The .45 Colt isn't as bad a cartridge as you'd think, especially with "cowboy" loads. It feels pretty much like a .45ACP. As far as the convertible, I think it's neat but I personally wouldn't want to load 9mm moon clips that much. If you're looking for a "cowboy" gun, I'd get the Ruger Vaquero (actually I did). It's stout and safe (transfer bar) and I think it's a good looking gun as any and the price was right too. I have looked at the Colts and the action was soooooo nice but the price was not in my range. Good luck deciding,

Rob
 
my dad got a super blackhawk .44 mag "bbl (or so, havent measured it in a while, so...) about '80 or so, was $199.95, so they sure aint getting any cheaper. has been a great gun, my dad carried it more than shot it, was his last "carry" gun if the SB could be that lol, but he lived on a ranch and carried it daily till his death, shot mostly 44 spec out of it, since i got it have put a few hundred mags thru it, a great accuarate gun, have been threatening to use it for whitetails for a few yrs now and might evetually try it in that role.

my only suggestion is a wolff spring kit for the trigger pull (not so good stock) and some pachmayer grips, the stock grips suck imho, the pachs make it MUCH more pleasent to shoot, esp w/mag loads imho, also some really pretty/functional wooden grips can be had.

all in all a great single action imho, a .357/9MM would be very useful, BUT the .30 carbine blackhawks are LOUD let me tell ya, ear protection is a must!! a bud had one yrs ago, and while accurate/etc, man, it was LOUD ..........shoot it in the field w/out ear plugs a time or 3 and ya will know it, lol, ears rang for about a wk, prob permanantly messed my hearing up. but hey, young and dumb and, well ya know lol,


greg
 
Full moon or half moon clips? Not for me. Maybe some day if I start shooting Bowling Pins ;)

A Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt wouldn't be an ugly cannon to use for plinking. Certainly tamer and softer then stout 357 Magnum loads. Those little jacked up 125 "Elephant" killers as I call them, really bark and snap the wrist. I'll take my 44 Magnum anyday as I find it more pleasant (assuming unported pistols without heavy underlugs :) ).

Now, to the specific topic at hand. Do you really want or need to shoot 9mm out of your wheelgun? For the hard times survivalist mentality, I can sort of see it but, the 9mm doesn't add anything unique when you consider what a 38 special will do. 38's can be exceptionally tame and cheap to shoot when you load or buy the right rounds. Personally, I like the 125JHP 38 +P's for general plinking fun. A convertible adds a little to the price but, not a lot so maybe the gadget factor of the caliber conversion is worth it.

For a dedicated plinker and target pistol, a 6 inch barrel is nice because it removes some of the sensitivity to minor aiming errors (it's all about the geometry and angles). I generally shoot underlug barrel revolvers and find the 6 inch barrel to be just about perfect for my use. More then that and they become unwieldy, shorter and the balance is off and the blast is worse (with 357's - sure the fireball in full afternoon sun is fun the first few times but, it gets old shooting a flame thrower ;) ). A 4 inch barrel wheelgun is easier to carry around on the belt in everyday activity but, this isn't an everyday carry piece is it?

A 6 inch (plus or minus and inch) single action Ruger is a good place to start. Then figure out what caliber you really want. The Vaquero models are getting a lot of good user feedback for ergonomics but, I have never personally used one.

I would stick with the major brands. I know you don't plan on resell when you buy but, single actions are harder to resell. Having an import with little or no name recognition will really hurt the resale potential and price. Ruger's specifically, offer a lot of value for the money and use really good materials for the construction so, it's pretty hard to go wrong there.
 
I really like the new-model Single Six in .32 H&R, but I'm afriad it would expensive to shoot and not nearly as versatile as the 9mm / .357 convertible Blackhawk.

Also like the idea of the adjustable sights and longer barrel on the new-model Blackhawk.

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I went to get the Blackhawk this morning, but the insta-check system is down. They're supposed to call me back later.

Mike
 
Congrats on the gun..I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lot. That Birdshead you have pictured is the next one I want to get. The picture below it looks just like my Vaquero.

Rob
 
Originally posted by Michael_Aos
And she thinks I should get something REALLY cool like an iPod or a 12" Powerbook with the money
Click to expand...

she has GOOD taste, this girl of yours :D
 
A good thing about the standard handle is that you can get large grips for it. These make a world of difference if you have large hands. The standard Ruger grips are puny and even the rubber pachymers are pretty small.
The attached photo shows my old .41 mag with Hogue grips made from padauk wood.
 
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